


You Aren't Invincible

by iwearheelsnow



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Angst, Anne is over it, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Phillip always acts so tough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 09:52:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13455756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwearheelsnow/pseuds/iwearheelsnow
Summary: Phillip tries trapeze and Anne is overjoyed until she sees his bleeding hands.





	You Aren't Invincible

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for any mistakes I might have made. 
> 
> Enjoy!

It was still very early in the morning when Anne woke up to an empty bed.

She’d never admit it, but such a sight irked her. Since the fire, she never liked to lose sight of Phillip. She always was scared something bad would happen to him if she did. That’s why, this particular morning, when she awoke from an especially displeasing dream, the emptiness of the bed Phillip and her shared felt so unnatural.

Every morning, Anne was used to waking up with Phillip’s arms holding her tightly. She was used to his warmth. To his breath against her neck. To his soft, but adorable snoring.

All those things were apart of her daily routine now. It was familiarity, and Phillip’s arms were her safe haven. But this morning, she didn’t feel calm nor relaxed. “Where could he be so early in the morning?” she kept asking herself.

She knew Phillip wasn’t a morning person. Every day, she’d wake up at 6 AM to go practice with her brother, and every single time, he’d beg her to stay a little longer. “The bed is cold without you”, he’d say to her.

She never realized how true that was until this very moment. The bed was, indeed, strikingly cold. She suddenly felt extremely lonely and knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. So, she took all the energy she had in her and got dressed, ate breakfast – faster than she ever did – and started to walk towards the circus.

****

  
When she opened the building’s doors, she did it carefully and silently. That’s exactly why the young man inside didn’t hear a thing and still thought he was alone.

What Anne saw inside bewildered her, and it took a lot to surprise the young woman.

There was Phillip, rope in hand, flying across the room. She must admit he didn’t do it with much grace or confidence, but the smile plastered on his face showed that he enjoyed it very much.

Seeing such genuine joy in Phillip’s eyes made Anne’s heart skip a beat. A smile crept across her face and her eyes started to water. That maybe would seem stupid to others, but such a sight made Anne warm inside. Phillip knew how much she enjoyed trapeze, and he often expressed his interest, but she never thought he was being serious.

Anne was so deep in thoughts that she didn’t see Phillip touch the ground again. She didn’t see him look at her either.

“Anne?” she heard Phillip say. “Are you okay?”

His voice brought her back to reality, and she knew she was blushing.

“I’m sorry, Phillip, I didn’t mean to interrupt your routine”, she said with a small shy smile.

“That’s fine, it’s over. I hope you enjoyed, at least.”

“I did.”

“I’d be offended if you didn’t.” He laughed. “I can’t feel my arms or hands anymore”, he then nervously admitted.

She looked down at his hands and she could have sworn she saw blood.

“Let me see”, she suggested softly.

“It’s fine. I’m just going to put ice on them.”

“Let me see”, she said again, a little firmer this time.

“Okay”, he whispered as she took his hands in hers.

She noticed the way his breath caught in his throat when she touched them and knew something was wrong. She stared at him – his eyes were strikingly blue -, looked down and immediately saw the cause of his pain. There were small and big cuts everywhere. The skin was nowhere to be seen, only blood covered his hands. The ropes had lacerated them.

Her sad, brown eyes stared into his soul.

“It’s not as bad as it looks”, he said, flinching.

“Phillip!” Anne almost shouted. “Stop pretending you’re invincible! This is really bad!”

“Anne, lower your voice a bit. Everyone’s still sleeping”, he muttered.

“Don’t tell me to lower my voice, Carlyle! You’re hurting yourself with the ropes, you shouldn’t have used them for so long.”

“I didn’t realize they were bleeding until I saw you. Trust me, it doesn’t hurt that much.”

“Why are you always like this? Do you have something to prove?”

“I don’t know what you mean”, Phillip murmured.

“Yes, you do! Since the fire, you always act like nothing ever hurts you. Every time you hurt yourself, you say it’s nothing. What are you afraid of? To seem weak? Because if that’s the case then it’s ridiculous. It’s okay to feel the pain. You’re just human.”

“Anne, it’s just a little blood.”

“I’m not just talking about your hands!” she screamed. She realized how loud she was, then lowered her voice a little. “I just – I can’t lose you.”

Those last few months with Phillip had been wonderful, but Anne couldn’t help it. Every time he would stumble, trip or do so much as cut himself with paper, Anne’s heart clenched in fear. She had almost lost him once, she didn’t need it to happen again.

“I just – I don’t know. You just – don’t care. You act always so confident, but I can’t. My heart stops every time you hurt yourself. I almost lost you once-”. Her voice broke. “I can’t lose you again.”

Phillip’s eyes softened. “You aren’t going to lose me, darling. I just don’t want to live in constant fear. I want to enjoy life. I want to take risks. I want to live.”

Anne understood that. Taking risks, that’s how she lived her life. She risked her life on a daily basis and didn’t really care, but Phillip doing it was different. Just the thought of losing him made her eyes water.

“Just – don’t do anything stupid, please”, she whispered. He nodded.

“Come here”, he said, circling his arms around her waist. He kissed her forehead, then buried his face in her hair and said: “You’re never going to lose me. Never again.”

“I believe you”, she said. “Now, let me bandage your hands.”

He smiled tenderly. “If you insist.”

Minutes later, Phillip’s hands were wrapped in bandages and didn’t hurt quite as much. Before letting go, Anne brought them to her lips and softly kissed them.

“Good as new.”

When Phillip looked up and caught Anne’s eyes, he not only saw love, but resignation. Both of them lived risky lives and could get hurt at any given moment. That, they could not do anything about. The only thing they could do is support and love each other.

And that’s exactly what they would do.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope there wasn't a lot of mistakes :) You can leave a kudos or a comment and you can also send me fic requests on my tumblr @i-wear-heels-now.


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